I personally believe that what we eat can significantly influence our mental and physical health. There are quite a number of food items that are recommended to individuals who want to improve their brain function and health. Many of these food items are fruits, vegetables and nuts. On the other hand, consumption of junk food and processed food items are highly associated with the development of a wide variety of conditions including those that affect the brain. I recently came across this article here about a study that found sugary beverages to be associated with memory problems. I thought it would be wonderful to have it posted here since many people nowadays are consuming high amounts of sugar through sodas and other sweet beverages. I’ve always taught my students to reduce their intake of unhealthy and sugary food and drinks because they are detrimental to health. Anyway, enjoy reading this interesting article!

USC study links sugary beverages to memory problems | USC News

Studying rats as model subjects, scientists found that adolescents were at an increased risk of suffering negative health effects from sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

Adolescent rats that freely consumed large quantities of liquid solutions containing sugar or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in concentrations comparable to popular sugar-sweetened beverages experienced memory problems and brain inflammation, and became pre-diabetic, according to a new study from USC. Neither adult rats fed the sugary drinks nor adolescent rats that did not consume sugar had the same issues.

“The brain is especially vulnerable to dietary influences during critical periods of development, like adolescence,” said Scott Kanoski, corresponding author of the study and assistant professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Via news.usc.edu

Drinking healthy beverages is ideal especially if you are preparing for an exam such as IELTS, in addition to attending The IELTS School. I actually have quite a number of reading materials about the food and beverage to consume and avoid especially for students or those who want to improve their brain function and health. I’ll be posting some of them here in the coming days so I hope you keep yourself updated.